The lost world

A CONTINENT that rose above the Indian Ocean at least three times over 80 million years, only to disappear beneath the waves again each time, has been discovered on the seabed about 4000 kilometres southwest of Australia. The events that raised the Earth's crust above sea level are so unexpected that theories of how continents form may have to be revised.

Geologists aboard the drilling ship Joides Resolution, which is working on the international Ocean Drilling Program, have found that two submerged features, the Kerguelen Plateau and Broken Ridge, now about 2000 metres below the surface, were once joined. Together, they formed a continental shelf of 2 million square kilometres.

Only a small partno bigger than Britainactually protruded above the surface. This landmass probably played a role in the migration of animals after the supercontinent of Gondwana broke up, which started about 130 million years ago. The new discovery shows ...

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